Maybe if Glenn Robinson had hit the game-winning baseline jumper in Game 5 of the 2001 Eastern Conference finals against Philadelphia, we wouldn't be stuck wondering why it is that one of the most successful players in franchise history was traded for a former Croatian sensation and an ex-teenage head case.

As it is, he missed the baby jumper, and the fallout from the subsequent 41-41 season finally started showing up in radiology tests Friday: Robinson -- the Bucks' second-leading career scorer -- was sent to Atlanta for 33-year-old Toni Kukoc, 21-year-old Leon Smith and a first-round Hawks draft pick next year.

Robinson's exodus comes down to two things: after a poor year, GM Ernie Grunfeld and George Karl weren't going to bring back the same nucleus for 2002-03; and the Dog was easier to unload than backup and future starter Tim Thomas.

Call it addition by other means if you must, but the only direct plus from this agreement will be tallied in Atlanta.

The cash-strapped Bucks may have saved some payroll, but they've also inexorably cast their lot with the gimpy-kneed and balky-shooting Thomas, who flashes greatness like a Kennedy while perhaps out-earning them. Thomas is two years into a six-year, $67 million deal, a move, I should add, that I applauded heartily upon its consummation two summers ago.

But while the maligned Robinson kept politicking for more respect and pumping in 20 points a night last year, Thomas and every other Buck seemed to hurt this or pull that while maintaining a tighter affection with Karl, the fans and the local press. Reputations are a tough thing to shake.

OK, a change was needed and money does need to be saved, but come on -- Kukoc and Smith? And the latter is a sure throwaway considering the team has Joel Przybilla and new draftee Marcus Haislip in the way of tall projects, both of whom have the advantage of being sane.

Such are the depths to which a much-hyped, but ultimately .500 team can sink. A year ago, the Big Three was on the cusp of greatness; today, it's just a Large Two with the third netting a guy who used to shoot only when Michael Jordan approved it.

Yes, Kukoc offers some veteran presence and size (6-11), but let's not pretend he's going to relieve any of the dirtier duties in the paint that the Bucks still can't take care of. He will free up Ray Allen and Sam Cassell to shoot even more, which is good, and he won't publicly feud with Karl, which is also a positive. Beyond that, he's fairly cheap.

The deal hinges on Thomas, though, and perhaps whatever role player Grunfeld can plug in with the cost savings earned in the swap. Cassell needs a veteran backup at the point, and that could be the next move Grunfeld makes, but that won't matter much if Thomas can't shake his image as a very talented coach-killer who has never cashed in on his vast promise.

At his best, Thomas is a 6-10, slashing, long-range bombing threat. In fact, he and Allen are the only Bucks who make consistent, concerted efforts to get to the basket offensively, though both seem to prefer aiming at it from 25 feet. Thomas won't be 26-years old until next February, so it's not as if he's a lost cause. But it's possible the reduced minutes that Robinson created were both a security blanket and an irritant; Thomas will now be expected to start and produce every night. {INSERT_RELATED}

Hopefully, Kukoc will be a good guy to help him do those things, and despite Friday's swindle, I think he'll contribute. Everyone still remembers the positive effect Scott Williams had on these Bucks in 2001, another championship veteran who supplied a young, insouciant team with a bit of stability, effort and professionalism. Kukoc brings the same pedigree and a more polished skill set.

Robinson's recent arrest on charges of domestic battery is a fitting and sad denouement to his stay in Milwaukee; it's just one more charge he's trying to refute. When he was selected in front of the articulate and well-liked Grant Hill in the 1994 draft, it felt like Robinson would forever be trying to impress those who simply could not be swayed by his deadly jump shot or his simplistic sound bytes. And he never really did.

Eight years later, he's probably accomplished more on the basketball court than Hill, the former NBA icon and advertising darling. But even coming off consecutive injury-plagued seasons, what do you think Hill would have garnered in a trade last week? I have to think it would have been more than this.